Malachite's Choice
by Torn Fox
Summary: After Zoicite's execution, Malachite makes a choice that changes his fate for the better, whether he knows it or not. He has sworn on his honor to avenge his fallen love, and finds help in the oddest of places. He'll uncover the truth to his past life along the way. But can he survive and keep his promise at the same time? Beryl is not the only evil in the universe, after all...
1. Chapter 1

Malachite stood in his chamber, remembering Zoicite's last words to him. His mind was absent of anything else.

_Don't forget me_. She had said to him before vanishing into Nega Dust, Queen Beryl had executed her for disobeying orders yet again.

"I would never." Was what he said in reply, he was torn on the inside. He felt the urge to avenge his fallen love. But he took pride in his honor to the queen.

"Then do what feels right to you." The voice called out from the blackness of his chamber.

Malachite recognized the voice. "Neflyte? But...But you're dead! Zoicite's youma trio killed you!" He looked around for his fellow general, but didn't see him. "Where are you?"

"Zoicite may have killed my body, but my soul lingers on." He began. "I know what you're feeling right now."

Malachite stood on edge, he knew that the fallen general could only be after one thing. Revenge. It was he after all, that had encouraged Zoicite to kill him in the first place. "And I know what you want. Revenge! Right?" He was ready to fight should the spirit attack him.

"No. You wish to avenge Zoicite, right?"

"Of course, but my honor and loyalty belong to Beryl. I cannot go against her." He explained, but wondered to himself just how Neflyte knew of his inner desire. Could he be reading his mind?

"As much as I hated her, I know you two were close. So I will tell you how." He announced.

"But Queen Beryl will-"

"Forget about Beryl!" The ghostly form of Neflyte appeared before him. "I know the truth she does not want you to know! Now, listen." The white-haired shitennou fell silent. "We were the four guardians of Prince Endymion, proud warriors that had counterparts." He raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "You don't remember this because she brainwashed us all. A vile woman" He finished

Malachite was startled to hear such news. Had he been following the wrong person all along? If Queen Beryl had brainwashed him, then who had he been before? He didn't know, but he knew that his urge to avenge Zoicite grew stronger from hearing this. A flash of memories flew into his mind, but he didn't remember much of it. "I know now." He told himself. Zoicite had been murdered by a monster, and he would slay it! "Tell me, how?"

The ghostly form moved to his fellow general's side. "Serena Tsukino." He spoke. Malachite raised his eyebrow again. "That is the name of the girl who is Sailor Moon. Find her and you'll already be ahead of Beryl."

The loyal side of him urged him to report the name to Queen Beryl. But he did not, he shoved the thought to the darkest depths of his mind. "I doubt it. Sailor Moon will attack me on sight."

"No, she won't. She cannot reveal her identity to her family. I was _lucky _to have tricked her into revealing herself."

"And you did not use that to your advantage?"

"Molly was in danger. I would not let her be injured by the three Youma that Zoicite sent out." He refocused on informing Malachite. "She knew me, so if you explain to her that I was the one who told you it should calm things down. Well, at least a little."

Malachite turned his back on the ghost. "How do I know this isn't some elaborate trap?" His loyalty was resurfacing no matter how hard he tried to push it away.

"Who do you trust more? The woman who brainwashed you and executed your lover? Or your fellow shitennou?"

That did it, Malachite's loyalty was vanquished by the memory of Zoicite's execution. "The shitennou, without a doubt!"

"Then find Sailor Moon. I cannot stay any longer, the guardian of time has found me. I wish you good lu-" The ghost abruptly vanished. Malachite stayed silent for some time, thinking over how he would go about this.

"Ninjana!" The Youma appeared within moments of being summoned.

"Yes, Lord Malachite?"

He turned to the Youma. "Bring me a Nega Bomb from the battlements. I have something to...take care of."

She vanished to execute the order, leaving him to his thoughts. Malachite walked over to the table next to his bed, and picked up the golden picture frame. "Zoicite." He held the frame to his chest. "I swear that on my honor I will avenge you, even if it brings me death itself." He placed the frame into his subspace pocket.

Ninjana returned, holding the Nega Bomb as ordered. Malachite approached to take it, but the Youma held it from him. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you going to do with it?"

"That's none of your concern. But I have another order for you." He coldly replied. His icy eyes sent shivers down the Youma's spine. "Evacuate the lair. You have ten minutes to get everyone out."

"But, Lord Malachite! You aren't planning to-"

"You shall speak of this to nobody! Not even Queen Beryl must know!" Ninjana bowed to the general. She had sworn loyalty to him, not the queen.

Those ten minutes passed fast, every one of Malachite's Youma were out of the base. He gave them an order to go into hiding on Earth, and they complied without question believing it was part of an elaborate plan to impress the queen.

Malachite gathered his belongings in his subspace pocket, and took one last look around the base. He set the Nega Bomb down on his bed. "This is for you, Zoicite." He whispered before starting the countdown.

As he was about to leave, he heard Beryl summoning him. She could send her commands to generals mentally, but it was up to that specific general to follow them. Malachite did not.

He vanished in a pink light as the bomb exploded, turning his home into nothing but shrapnel. The light from the bomb could be seen for miles throughout the Negaverse, Beryl's Dark Kingdom in particular.

"What is the meaning of this!?" She hissed as she shielded her eyes. "Malachite! Appear before me!" When he did not, she feared him dead. Beryl knew that such a large blast could only be produced by a Nega Bomb, and Malachite was one of the only two to have access to such powerful weapons. "Aaagh!" She roared in fury. When the explosion dissipated, Beryl teleported to Malachite's home. She found nothing but smoldering rubble.

Hours passed before she publicly announced the death of her last general. "Soon, Prince Enydmion shall be ready to take command." She announced to Metallia.

"Excellent work, Beryl." The dark entity replied from her crystalline prison. "It is unfortunate that you are out of generals. But, Endymion will rise to be more powerful than them all should his training be completed. You, of course, will have to take this responsibility yourself."

"Of course." Beryl bowed before the entity. Earth would soon fall, as would every world after.

But in Tokyo, Malachite stood atop a telephone pole. He was quite pleased that his plan had worked without a hitch to this point."Now, Sailor Moon. Where are you?"

**I am well aware that Zoicite was male in the Japanese version, but just go with it for now.**

**Reviews appreciated as always.**

**Just a little note: Yeah, i'm using aspects of both the Dub and Original versions.**


	2. Chapter 2

Malachite leapt down from the telephone pole, landing as quietly as possible to avoid arousing any suspicions from those nearby. He began to walk and think, how would he find one girl in the whole of Tokyo? "This is going to be difficult." He admitted to himself. Last time he lured Sailor Moon out it was with Zoicite's help, but this time he was alone.

Hours passed as he passed several buildings, the sun had rose from the horizon. Some of the buildings he passed were movie theaters, others were shopping marts. But he bumped into someone as they were coming out of what he assumed to be a jewelry store. "Osa-P." He read the sign above before looking to see the person he had bumped into.

"Oh, i'm so sorry mister! I should have watched where I was going!" It was a young schoolgirl with shoulder length hair. She picked up the small baggie she had dropped upon bumping into him. "You see I was up all night talking to my friend and I-" Her words froze as she got a good look at him. Malachite didn't understand why.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, albeit with a little difficulty. He would have to get used to being nice if he was going to avenge his love.

"No not at all!" She hastily replied. "But i've got to go now. Bye!" The girl darted off down the street, and Malachite turned to walk away from the scene. But something stopped him. "Oh man. I wonder what Serena's gonna say about this!"

Although the girl was rather far off, he heard her. His hearing was exceptional, especially when listening for something such as a name. "So, she knows a girl named Serena..." He turned back around and began to tail the girl from a distance as to not attract her attention. It took twenty minutes, but they were approaching a large white building. "This had better be the right Serena, I don't have any time to waste." He mumbled as he watched the girl go inside the school gates.

Another person bumped into him on their way by, and didn't stop to apologize. He ignored it for the time being. "Juuban Junior High School." He read the words aloud to himself as he set foot on the grounds. He took a look around at the trees, sky, and the flower garden near the entrance. He stepped inside the double doors without much hesitation. He had to find Sailor Moon-No, he had to find Serena Tsukino. Then again, they were the same person.

"Hey! You aren't supposed to be here!" A school attendant shouted while approaching the former general. Malachite looked over to the man. "I am going to have to ask you to leave, sir. This is a school not a manga convention." He said, insulting the way Malachite was dressed.

The white haired general scoffed at the school attendant. "Fine. I will go." He could have easily forced his entry, but he knew better than to make a scene when he was trying to lay low. As soon as he was outside the school gates, the attendant returned to the building. "This will be harder than I thought. I wasn't expecting a _school _of all places to be guarded by someone." He needed another plan, but he didn't have one. Defeated for the moment, he leapt to the roof of a nearby building, and waited.

Malachite watched the sun and clouds go across the blue sky. He had the time, so he contemplated Queen Beryl's decision to conquer this world. "I must admit, Earth is a rather beautiful planet. It's almost hard to believe that I wanted to destroy it." Wait, did he really just say that? No, he was going soft, and he would not stand for it. Hours went by before the school day ended, he almost forgot his mission by being lost in thought.

"Come on, Serena!" He recognized the voice. It was the girl from earlier. He peered over the ledge and sure enough he saw the human schoolgirl.

"Hold on, Molly! Wait for me!" Malachite's icy gaze turned to see a blonde girl running to catch up with her friend.

"Hm..." He looked her over. The hair matched Sailor Moon's, so that was a point. The blue eyes matched as well, things were looking good so far. "I had better be right." He growled at himself before leaping to the next building, unnoticed by anyone below. As the girls walked, he listened in on their conversation.

"So Molly, why were you late today? Usually _i'm_ the one that's late."

"Well you see, Serena. I kinda bumped into someone on my way out the door. I think you should know about him." As Malachite leapt to the next building, he accidentally knocked over an old paint bucket that had been left on the roof a long while back. It fell to the ground, and hit just behind the two girls. They shrieked in shock at first. Then, realizing it was a paint bucket, calmed down.

"Someone must've left it up there, it looks pretty old and-" Serena covered her nose. "_Smells _old too. What was in that thing?" To answer her friend's question, Molly peaked inside the bucket through a small hole in the side.

"Eew! It's no wonder someone left it up there, there's a dead rat inside!" The girls shrieked again before running off, Malachite leapt from building to building following them.

They walked for quite some time, but they eventually wound around back onto the subject of Molly being late."So, who did you bump into?"

Molly's expression was indescribable, but she began. "Well, at first I thought it might be Neflyte because of his uniform. But, Neflyte didn't wear a cape or have white hair." They turned the street corner and she continued. "His gaze was absolutely terrifying, Serena. But at the same time he looked lost, like he was looking for someone."

Serena's mind came to an instantaneous conclusion. "Malachite..." She whispered so Molly wouldn't hear, but the shitennou himself did hear. He knew this was the girl who had thwarted his plans time and time again with her friends' help. They went inside the building he stood on the roof of, so when he was certain no one would see he teleported to the front door.

"Game Crown Center. A bit of an odd name." Malachite pushed the door open, and stepped inside. All around him there were people playing at various machines, and he didn't see Serena. "Just great." He snarled, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Hey, no fair!" He heard a little kid cry from behind him. Upon turning he saw two older kids playing keep-away with his prize. "Give it back!"

The white haired man turned away, it wasn't his problem. He continued to look around for Serena, scanning the place with his ice blue eyes.

But he couldn't focus with the noise from behind. He turned again, and approached the two playing keep-away. "That's enough." He said to them.

They dropped the toy and ran out of the arcade without hesitation, frightened by his voice. He knelt down and picked it up, his gaze shifted from the toy to the kid. After a moment he said, "Here you go." gave the kid his toy and walked away. "That should keep him quiet. At least until I can find Sailor Moon-er...Serena."

Malachite walked up and down the rows of people, searching for any sign of the blonde ditz. But found no such thing. He growled in anger and clenched his fist. "Hey, you alright there pal?" He looked back over his shoulder, and saw a blonde man in an arcade uniform looking back at him.

Turning around, he replied in a cold voice, "No. I'm looking for a girl named Serena Tsukino. Do you know her?"

To his surprise, the man did. "Yeah, she comes by here every day after school gets out. You must be another friend of hers. I'm Andrew by the way."

Andrew. He would have to remember that name in case he lost this girl again. He tried his best to sound relieved. "Yes, I'm her friend Mala-er...Mike." He made the name up on the spot, but the lie seemed to work. "I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction?" He used casual talk to get on the man's trustworthy side. But it disgusted him. Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead using such sentences.

"Sure. She left for the Hikawa shrine not too long ago. It's up on Cherry Hill. You can't miss it." Andrew explained while pointing out the window at a not-so-distant hill.

Malachite left the building without saying another word, he was getting closer and closer. Now that he knew he had the right person there was little to stand in the way. As soon as the coast was clear, he teleported in a flash of pink to the bottom of the hill. He could have very well gone straight to the top, but he had some things to think over before doing so.

"Sailor Moon will attack me on sight without her family in the way, there has to be a way to get around-" He stopped talking abruptly as the perfect plan formulated in his mind. He would tail Sailor Moon from a distance to find out where she lived. With her family present she would not dare to attack him. "Now all I have to do," He smirked, "is wait."

People traveled up and down the stairs, leaves blew in the breeze. But he ignored both of these facts as he kept watch from behind a tree for the blonde. At last, when the sun was setting, she started down the stone staircase. Her foot flattened any leaves that had fallen in her path.

The white-haired general followed her for about twenty minutes before she stopped to pick up a coin on the ground. Malachite waited patiently out of sight, keeping keen eyes locked on her. When he saw she was going to cross the street, he did not wait to teleport to the other side. Serena heard the sound though, he wasn't the only one with exceptional hearing. "Hey, who's there?" No response was given apart from a car driving by on the road. She crossed without another word, but stayed on alert.

Ten more minutes went by, and she finally reached home. Serena slipped off her shoes in the entryway, went upstairs to her bedroom, and flopped down onto the bed. Luna jumped at the sound, waking her from her nap. "Serena! Can't you be just a _little _quieter?" The cat scolded her owner.

"Well gee, I missed you too Luna." Was the reply she got. Luna hopped to her feet.

"Well excuse me, but I believe I deserve at least _some _respect around here! But that's besides the point." Luna looked Serena in the eyes. "What's gotten you so worked up that you disregard _any _respect for me whatsoever?"

Serena sat up. "Well Luna, I think Molly had a run-in with Malachite. I'm worried about her."

"A wise thought." Luna said referring to the second sentence of her friend's statement.

The blonde would have replied with another smart-alec remark, but her mother called from downstairs. "Serena! Come on down, you've got a visitor!"

"Coming Mom!" She gave Luna a look that clearly meant '_Too bad._' and flew out of her bedroom. Her feet made lots of noise on the wooden staircase as she rushed down to meet her guest, but she tripped and tumbled down it instead. She sat up and continued to the living room where she froze in place.

Her mother was standing next to the guest with a smile, not knowing the danger she could be in. The man next to her had white hair, a cape, and wore the uniform of a Negaverse General.

She had been found.


	3. Chapter 3

Serena stood in the doorway to the living room, frozen like a statue. "Serena? What's wrong?" Her mother asked with worried eyes. It didn't take long for Serena to come up with a plan, even though that was usually Ami's job.

"Um, mother," She began a little shaky but picked up confidence, "could you excuse us for a moment. Maybe you could get some snacks from the kitchen." Her mother was happy to fulfill the request, and left the room. Serena's happy tone shattered instantaneously as her mother passed through the door frame. "Alright, Malachite! How did you find me?" She jabbed a finger in his face, to which he took a step back.

"I am not here to fight you, Sailor Moon. But instead I need your help." He tried his best to sound friendly, but it didn't come out quite right. "I intend to vanquish Queen Beryl and avenge Zoicite."

"And I'm just supposed to believe you? How many times have you tried to kill me again? Oh, let's see..." She mocked, "Well, there was the fake Sailor Moon, the skiing competition, the ice skating incident, and the princess class where you _turned my friends to wax_! Why I ought to dust you right now just for that in itself!" She reached for her brooch, but Malachite slapped her hand away from it. "Why you-"

"I've got cookies!" Serena's mother announced from the other room with cheer. Serena snapped her attention away from Malachite and darted into the kitchen for a snack.

"Perhaps I was too forward. She _does _have a point." He reasoned with himself. "If I could take out Beryl alone I would kill this kid now. But she has the Imperium Silver Crystal. Granted I could take it for myself, but how would I use it? Without someone with the moon's royalty in their bloodline wielding it the thing's essentially a gem and nothing more." He stepped out onto the porch to reason while Serena ate her snack.

But while Malachite reasoned with himself, Serena had secretly snuck up back to her room. She closed the door as quietly as possible. "Luna!" The cat leapt to her feet and instinctively hissed at being woken from her nap, again.

"Oh what is it now, Serena?"

"Malachite's downstairs." She squeaked. "He found out who I really am." She was on the verge of crying, it was absolutely terrifying knowing that the strongest enemy she had ever faced was just down the stairs outside her door, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Serena stop your whining!" Luna looked her dead in the eye and pressed her paw down on the communicator that had been left on the bed. "Artemis, gather the scouts. Malachite has shown up at Serena's _house_! There's no time to lose!"

"I'm on it, Luna!" The white feline on the other end replied without much pause. The feed cut out and Luna spoke with confidence.

"You are Sailor Moon, remember that. You _can _defeat him!"

Malachite contemplated his options on the porch, Serena's mother had brought him a cookie to snack on while they waited for Serena to come back down. Both assumed she was using the bathroom, or something else along those lines. He had to admit though, this food was quite good.

"I could imprison her and the others, then force them to fight for me." Malachite announced option one. "But then I would risk being exposed to the crystal's power, it defeated me before in the Silver Millenium and it can do it again."

Malachite's focus was interrupted when he thought he heard footsteps. He scanned his surroundings, but saw nobody around. "Then perhaps I should...befriend them." The word hurt to say. It was hard to feel nice towards someone who had been your sworn enemy for some time. He turned to go back inside.

"Venus Crescent Beam!" A golden beam shot towards him from behind, he swiftly dodged to the side which in turn caused the attack to instead smash the ground he had previously stood on. His focus turned to where the beam had come from.

"So Sailor Moon called her friends, perfect." Malachite spoke as four familiar girls stepped into view. He didn't have time to think of another plan, he had to befriend them. "Listen girls, I don't want to fight."

"Like we're supposed to believe you!" Jupiter rushed at him, her eyes filled with determination. When she got close enough she threw a punch at Malachite's head, but he vanished and reappeared on the other side of the street.

"I need your help, Sailor Scouts. Please, if you would just listen-" He tried again, but they weren't listening. Although they had good reason to, he had tried to kill them several times as Sailor Moon herself had pointed out not too long ago.

"Supreme Thunder Crash!" Jupiter let loose the bolts of lightning towards her foe. He leapt far back, landing at the street corner.

"This will be harder than I thought." Malachite took off down the street with the girls chasing him close behind. If he could get them away from Serena's house then he could try to negotiate with Sailor Moon directly. They chased him down several streets and were almost caught up before he leapt over a gate and into a construction site.

"After him!" Mars took the lead and they too leapt over. But Malachite was faster than them, and was already halfway up the tall building under construction.

"Just give me a chance to-Agh!" Malachite ducked as Jupiter hurled a brick from the pile near her. "Why won't they listen to me?" He pondered as he neared the top of the building. He heard the sound of a boot landing on metal above him, he knew that could only be Sailor Moon herself, so he jumped across to the other side of the platform. Clearing the staircase in a single bound, he landed and took the little time he had to think. "If I can't tell them..." The five sailors emerged from the staircase opposite of his, each ready to attack. "Then I'll show them." He decided.

"It's over, Malachite!" Sailor Moon declared from her place at the head of the group. "You're the nastiest general of them all, and on behalf of the moon..." She pointed directly at him. "I will punish you!"

"So long, surfer boy!" Jupiter added, insulting the hairstyle Malachite chose. The small rod emerged from the top of her tiara.

"Evil spirit, you can't exist in this world!" Mars placed her hands together.

"You have no way out, a zero percent chance of escape!" Mercury too readied herself.

He had heard it all before, but he didn't say anything back as Sailor Moon readied her tiara.

"Moon Tiara..."

"Mercury Bubbles..."

"Mars Fire..."

"Supreme Thunder..."

Malachite's instincts were going off like alarms during a military base invasion. They were telling him to put up a barrier for a counter attack, but he did not do any such thing.

"Magic!"

"Blast!"

"Ignite!"

"Crash!"

As the tiara flew towards him the fire enveloped it, and a ring of bubbles appeared at its edges. Still, he did not move to block it. Lightning from Jupiter's tiara empowered the already deadly weapon. Every second it grew closer, the closer Malachite came to raising a barrier. His instincts tried to raise force him to raise a barrier before it was too late. But he struggled against them.

Sailor Moon now realized her mistake as she watched Malachite standing there with no intent on stopping the weapon, he _had _been telling the truth. "No tiara, stop!"

But the weapon hit him hard, and everything went black. His mind however, drifted elsewhere.

**Flashback**

"First the elevator and then the ice crystal? Did you _really _think I wouldn't know what you were up to, Zoicite?" Beryl hissed at the already injured general shaking before her.

"Please, Queen Beryl! I promise it won't happen again!" Zoicite pleaded for her life.

"It is my fault, your majesty. I'm the one who trained her." Malachite tried to defend his love from the dark queen's wrath.

"You're right, Zoicite. It will not happen again." Energy began to gather in the orb at the top of Queen Beryl's staff.

"Queen Beryl, please I-" Zoicite tried to speak, but found herself unable to finish.

"You've been warned for the very last time, _Zoicite_! You won't disobey me ever again!" The orb atop her staff glowed a dark pink.

"Please Queen Beryl, it's my fault! I trained her!" Malachite tried again to defend Zoicite. But to no avail.

A beam shot from the orb atop the staff, striking Zoicite in the chest with extreme force. She cried out in pain as it hit her, "_Malachite_!"

He could only protest. "_No_!" He knelt by her side as he heard Queen Beryl say the last few words before departing to consult Queen Metallia down in the depths of her Dark Kingdom.

"Let that be a warning to you, Malachite. You are my prize general, I would hate to have to do the same to you."

Malachite couldn't speak as he looked over Zoicite, the beam had left a searing mark in her chest. "Malachite..." She managed to speak in barely a whisper.

"Zoicite." He supported her back with his arm, allowing her to at least somewhat sit up in her final moments.

"Please, promise me one last thing Malachite." She placed a hand on his chest and smiled weakly.

"Anything." He looked her in the eyes. His own eyes were tearing up from heartbreak.

"Don't forget me." With those last words, her body turned to Nega Dust that was carried away with the little wind there was in the room. Leaving Malachite alone in the darkness.

**End Flashback**

Malachite opened his eyes, he could feel sharp pain coursing through his body. But he felt something else too, on his forehead. He reached up to touch it, but someone else moved his arm back down. "Huh...?"

"You shouldn't be moving, it's a miracle you survived that." Sure enough when he looked over, he saw Sailor Moon looking back at him. "I'm sorry, I should have given you a chance."

"You had no reason to believe me. But I accept your apology." Malachite groaned as he slowly sat up. Sailor Mercury was about to protest as she approached to lay him back down, but he beat her to it. "I'll be fine, you have to be strong to become a Negaverse Warrior, and even stronger to stand against."

With Sailor Moon's help, he was up and back on his feet. A wet towel fell down in the process, but Mercury took care of the problem with no hesitation. "We were wrong to not give you a chance to explain yourself." She said as Sailor Moon let him stand on his own.

Malachite nodded, Venus and Jupiter apologized as well with some nervous laughing. Mars grumbled an apology, it was clear that she still thought otherwise. But if the others were willing to give him a chance, she would as well.

When the five Sailors began to go back down the staircase, Malachite began to follow. But he stepped on something, upon looking down he saw a bunch of damaged flower petals scattered on the ground. "Zoicite?" He asked, as if in response a gust blew the flower petals away.

"Hey, Malachite! You coming or do I get to fry you?" Mars called from below, and Malachite descended the building.

**The Intro is out of the way so next chapter things will pick up with the REAL action.**

**A thanks to the two who have reviewed up to this point, thank you! I love knowing what people think and where I can improve.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a little note, I think of the Dark Kingdom as a location inside the Negaverse.**

Two days had passed since Malachite abandoned Queen Beryl, with her thinking he was dead. During that time, the Sailor Scouts had grown more welcome to him, but were all still wary. Mars-well, Rei he had found out was her real name-was still opposed to the idea, but who could blame her for being who she was?

But back in the Negaverse, Prince Endymion was announcing his plan to Queen Beryl within the Dark Kingdom. "The plan will require a lot of energy, are you certain you can pull this off? I do not want the same thing that happened to Neflyte to happen to you. That girl has a very influential presence on people." Beryl was wary. Being down to only one main warrior she could not afford to lose him.

Endymion's plan was simple, using Neflyte's old friend Molly he would lure out Sailor Moon like the second shitennou had tried before his untimely death. But unlike his predecessor, Endymion would turn her into a warrior for the Negaverse. Sailor Moon would give up the wand for her return. From what he knew, Sailor Moon was someone who knew Molly well, so she would be hesitant to attack. If she did not give up the wand, he would use his new warrior to take it by force. "I am certain, in every aspect Sailor Moon is at a disadvantage. The Imperium Silver Crystal will be in your hands by sunrise tomorrow."

"Very well, do not fail me. With that crystal we shall rule together for eternity!" Beryl's smile was vile and wicked, just like her heart to its core.

"Yes, your majesty." Endymion bowed before vanishing from the throne room through a warp hole.

Molly was on her way home from school, reading over her test results as she walked. "Oh man, Serena's gonna be _so_ jealous!" She passed in front of a back alley, and a strong side wind blew the paper from her hands and off into the alley. "Oh no!" She rushed after it, the paper finally stopping near a sewer grate. "Got it."

She turned to leave, but her exit was blocked by Endymion. "It's good to see you, Molly. I need your help."

"Darien? Where have you been, Serena's been really worried ya know." She recognized him, but not completely.

"No, I am Prince Endymion. Warrior and second in command of Queen Beryl's Dark Kingdom." He took out the Star Crystal that Neflyte had made so long ago. The yellow rings that came from the black gem wrapped themselves around Molly as she became a new warrior of darkness. When the rings left, Endymion gave her the order. "Now, go and bring me this Serena person. That ought to lure Sailor Moon out of hiding. Double the hostages means twice the probability that Sailor Moon will hand over the crystal."

At the Hikawa shrine though, Rei was busy sweeping the stone grounds clear of any fallen leaves. Chad was busy greeting the guests and somehow _she _had wound up with his job, and his hers.

"It's not that bad Rei, it could be worse." Serena tried to cheer her friend up, before Ami had dragged her off to a study session that is.

"Well, let's see you do chores all day long." She mumbled as she thought back on the moment. She heard footsteps, and turned to see Molly. "Oh, hi Molly."

"Hey, where's Serena? I thought she always hung out here after school." Molly pondered as Rei put her broom away to begin the next chore on her list.

"Not today." She picked up a cloth from a nearby basket and hung it on the clothes wire. "She's over at Ami's for a study session." But Rei got an odd feeling about her situation, something was different about Molly's eyes. Not in their color or shape, but in a spiritual sense. She could recognize the trace of who did it too. "Endymion..." She whispered.

"Serena studying? Huh...well that's a first. Thank you Rei. You've been _very _helpful." Molly turned as if she was going to leave, but quickly turned and fired a black stream of energy at Rei from her hand. Unable to react, the raven-haired girl fell to the ground, falling unconscious upon contact.

Molly left the scene quickly, drawing no attention to herself as she left. It wasn't long before Rei woke up, "Ugh...The Negaverse got to Molly, _again_...Why is it always her?" As she stood up, Malachite arrived on the scene, having heard something fall to the ground.

"What happened to you?" He asked as he tried to help Rei up. She refused the help however, pulling away from him.

"Don't touch me! You may have fooled the others, but i'm onto you." She accused him of treachery, which had him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb. Because of you Darien is working for Queen Beryl, and now you're trying to trick us into thinking you've abandoned her so you can catch us off guard." She had gotten up close and Malachite took a few steps back, he had to _befriend _them not kill them.

The fourth shitennou asked his question again. "Who did this to you?"

The reply was almost instant. "Molly, she's working for Endymion. I could sense it. I'd know that trace anywhere because it has _you _written all over it along _with _Darien's!" It was crystal clear that Malachite would have to do something remarkable to gain Rei's trust. But there was no time at the moment.

"I shall warn them." He began to depart, but Rei grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Not without me you don't! Until you prove that you're telling the truth i'm not letting you go anywhere near my friends without me there!"

He opened a warp hole before them. "Ladies first." He said, and Rei stepped through, soon followed by Malachite.

"Oh come on, Ami! Can't we just do this later? I heard that there's a great new game at the Arcade and I _really _wanna try it, don't you?" Serena whined yet again. They hadn't even _begun _studying and she was already complaining. The doorbell rang. At the same time, Rei and Malachite appeared via warp hole in the center of the room. "Oh, hi guys!"

"Now's not the time Serena, Endymion got to Molly. She's with the Negaverse now." Rei explained.

"She's on her way over here now, you need to transform now! I shall leave as to not alert the prince of my presence." With those words, Malachite vanished into thin air.

"Moon Prism Power!" Serena held up her brooch, and in a series of twirls and motions had transformed into Sailor Moon.

"Mercury Power!" Ami held up her transformation pen and in a single spin became Sailor Mercury.

"Mars Power!" Rei held up her transformation pen, and fire surrounded her body before she became Sailor Mars.

Almost at the same time, Molly broke down the door to Ami's room. "Ah, Sailor Moon! I've been looking for you!" Molly began to approach the three.

"This isn't you, Molly! Try to fight it!" Sailor Moon tried to get through to her dear friend, but the darkness was too strong for Molly to fight even if she tried her hardest. Raising her hand, she fired a black beam at Mercury, who bolted out the door. They needed an open space to fight her in if they were going to win without killing their friend.

"You can't escape!" Molly shouted while giving chase to the sailor of ice and water. Sailor Moon and Mars gave chase to her. After a few moments of chasing each other down the staircase of the building, in which Molly had decimated a few doors with her beams, they found themselves outside.

"Mars Fire Ignite!" The stream of fire shot towards Molly with the intent to merely drain her strength. But as a counter, Molly shot a beam of darkness through the fire which dispersed the flames and hit her foe in the stomach.

"Moon Healing-" Sailor Moon tried to use her wand, but it was knocked out of her hand by a black rose. "Tuxedo Mask!" Sure enough, the warrior in a tuxedo was standing nearby. The two other Sailor Scouts looked to see their former friend, Molly leapt over them and stood by his side.

"It's the end of the line, Sailor Moon. Hand over that crystal!" He demanded while revealing his cane in preparation to attack. Molly laughed wickedly with a hand on her hip.

"No." She replied, but became emotional and began to cry.

"So be it! Molly, get the wand!" Molly was happy to oblige, and fired another beam.

"Look out!" Mars pushed the crying Sailor Moon out of harms way, barely being missed by the attack herself.

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" The thick fog that covered the area bought the Sailors enough time to regain their focus.

"As useless as ever!" Tuxedo Mask threw another black rose once the fog dispersed, this one aimed for Mars' chest. It was traveling through the air far too fast for her to dodge however, so she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Although Malachite would have liked to keep the element for his attack on Beryl, he couldn't let his ally be killed when he still needed them. He teleported directly in front of the rose, taking the hit for her. It hurt badly, and was draining his energy, but he quickly yanked it out, throwing the rose back at Tuxedo Mask!

"Malachite!?" Tuxedo Mask was in a state of shock, not only was the thought-to-be-dead general standing before him, but he had saved Sailor Mars. The black rose stuck itself in his shoulder, causing him to reel back in pain. Mars nervously opened her eyes, and was speechless to see that Malachite had taken the hit for her.

Forming three balls of energy in his hand, he shot them one at a time at his foes, driving them up against the wall. "Now, Sailor Moon! Use the wand!" He said upon firing the third ball.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" sailor Moon shouted while tracing a circle in front of her with the Crescent Moon Wand. The mystical energy it produced surrounded Molly's body, and a dark entity with Endymion's face flew from her back as she collapsed to the ground.

Malachite did not hesitate to attack it with a fourth ball of energy, stunning it so Sailor Mars could get what she wanted. Good old fashioned payback. "Alright, you're in for it! Mars Fire Ignite!" The stream of fire pierced through the entity, forcing it to disperse into nothingness.

Beryl had watched the fight through her orb, and was furious to discover the truth. "_Malachite_! You _traitor_! How dare you stand against your queen!" Lightning struck outside the throne room as a symbol of her anger.

Tuxedo Mask knew he couldn't stand against the former general in his current condition, so without hesitation he vanished through a warp hole to return to Queen Beryl. Sailor Moon and Mercury helped Molly up, and began to escort her home. Leaving Mars and Malachite alone on the streets. "Thanks for saving me. I guess I owe you an apology." She said to him, feeling ashamed of her earlier accusations.

"Well then, apology accepted."

"I guess I was wrong about you after all." Mars nervously chuckled, she hoped that she wouldn't make such embarrassing mistakes in the future.

"I understand. I _did _kidnap your friend after all, but you'll get him back." Malachite chuckled before turning to leave the scene.

"Hey, wait." Mars called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the park, the piles of leaves on the ground make a decent blanket." He replied without stopping.

"Oh...So, you don't have anywhere to go?" She almost sounded sad.

"No. But why is this something you concern yourself with?"

"Well, since you saved my life, maybe you'd like to live at the temple for a bit? Grandpa keeps a spare room for guests. Think you'd wanna give it a try?"

Malachite stopped and said, "Thanks, but not tonight. Now that Beryl knows I am alive I have to sleep with one eye open. Perhaps another time." His voice had returned to being cold, like before. But he gave a smile before vanishing from sight. He was quite pleased with himself, now that he had gained the trust of at least one of them, becoming friends would be much easier. He needed all the help he could get, his Youma were strong, but they were nothing against Beryl's.


	5. Chapter 5 The first carrier

Endymion bowed before the queen, "Your majesty, I regret to inform you that Malachite is...alive. He has joined the Sailor Scouts."

"I know." Queen Beryl hid her anger, "The traitor will pay with his life very soon. I will see to that _myself_!" Her voice carried through the throne room, and the crowd gathered began to whisper for a moment or two in shock. Beryl rarely ever left the Negaverse, for her to do so it had to be a _very _big deal to not only her personally, but the Dark Kingdom as well.

"My queen, please allow me to handle the traitor." He pleaded.

"No! This matter is beyond your concern, Endymion. In the meantime I have another mission for you. You know of the Rainbow Crystal carriers, don't you?"

Endymion slightly raised an eyebrow, "Of course, but they are of no use to us now."

What Beryls said next shocked not only him, but the crowd as well. "Not _entirely_. What I have in mind would require all seven of them, but would be well worth it. If you manage to capture all seven Rainbow Crystal carriers inside the Star Crystal, I can use their remaining powers to create a monster even stronger than _I_! It would be nothing compared to Metallia, but the Sailor Scouts would be crushed once and for all, think you can manage that? Prince Endymion."

"Of course I can manage, my queen. But, what about Malachite? Now that he has banded together with the Sailor Scouts he _will _try to stop me."

"Indeed he will." Beryl agreed, Malachite was her strongest general, even if he didn't remember he still had powers almost rivaling her own, he would be a formidable opponent in battle no matter if remembered them or not. "If you see him, get the carrier and leave him. I cannot afford to lose you, prince."

Endymion smiled, he could manage that with his eyes closed. "Of course, your majesty." He said before departing to his chambers.

Malachite, who was taking a walk through the park to familiar himself with the surroundings, felt something around that same moment. "Queen Beryl..." He could recognize the feeling of her dark powers. She would make her move soon, he could feel it deep in his gut. He would be ready.

Later that same day, Rei had called Malachite to the temple via the communicator Luna gave him during the two free days, insisting it was urgent. In a swirl of energy he appeared inside Rei's room. "You said you had something important to tell me?"

Rei turned to face him before revealing her vision, "I had a vision last night, Malachite. Did you happen to know of a fat cat when you were still working for Beryl? Zoicite went after it, if that helps at all."

The mention of Beryl and Zoicite's name brought up memories of the execution, but he quickly forced them back down. "Of course I remember. It was in the projected image of the next Rainbow Crystal carrier with a little red-haired girl."

"That cat _was _the rainbow crystal carrier." She clarified for him. He had not known that, Zoicite didn't mention anything about a cat being the carrier. "Anyways, I want you to go keep an eye on him, I've got a bad feeling that something's gonna happen to the poor kitty real soon."

Malachite gave his own suggestion. "Perhaps it would be wiser if one of you went with me, there's no telling what this could lead into."

"I'd offer to go, but i've got chores to do around here. _Chad_'s been getting all the attention lately." Rei whined before leaving the room.

After careful consideration, he decided that he would take Mina along, she seemed to get along well with animals from what he had seen. Her cat, Artemis, certainly loved being around her. In a swirl of energy he appeared in at her front door. Pushing the button for the doorbell, he waited patiently while someone came to answer it. After being greeted, he explained the situation to Mina and Artemis, who agreed to come along with him to keep an eye on the former Rainbow Crystal carrier.

It took a bit of a long walk, but they finally arrived. "So, this is the place?" Malachite asked Artemis, he was the only one of the three that knew where this cat was.

"Yeah, Luna told me all about it. She also told me to stay away from that alley over there." He pointed with his paw to Malachite's left towards a rather well lit alley.

"It looks fine to me, Artemis." Mina told him. "Don't worry, whatever Luna's reason was it's probably no big deal anymore." She rang the doorbell, and sure enough the girl Luna had told them about answered it. "Hi, i'm Mina. You met my friends a little while back, one of them had hair like meatballs."

Malachite remained silent as he stood behind Mina, the girl who answered the door seemed to believe the blonde though. "Alrighty, come on in! Last time your friends left before we had a chance to really meet. I'm scarlet by the way."

They met the girls' parents, who were nice enough. But there was no sign of the cat, Hercules. A bit of an odd name for a fat cat, but Malachite didn't question it. The question however, made Scarlet start co sob a bit, to which Malachite raised an eyebrow. The girl's parents explained that he went missing a few hours earlier, and asked if they could come back another time.

Mina, Malachite, and Artemis gathered in the nearby alley soon after they left the house. "Rei was right, something _did _happen to that kitty." Mina crossed her arms over her chest as she said this, it frustrated her that they were _just _too late.

"How are we gonna find one cat in all of Tokyo? He could be anywhere." Artemis followed Mina's example and let his tail fall.

Malachite smiled, "I belive I may have the answer to that." He turned to an empty space near them. "Ninjana!" He called the Youma's name.

Sure enough, she soon rose from the ground in front of Malachite, and bowed before him. "Yes, Lord Malachite?" She then noticed Mina and Artemis, "Um, Lord Malachite? Are you aware that you have a girl and her cat behind you?"

"I am well aware, and they are with me." He informed his Youma. Then turning to Mina and Artemis, said, "This is Ninjana. One of the few Youma I have left after you and the other scouts destroyed the rest."

"You mean, she's a Sailor Scout? Why haven't you destroyed her?" Ninjana questioned this move, but got her answer.

"I have allied myself with the scouts, we are now actively against Queen Beryl. This is Mina Aino, you would know her better as Sailor Venus."

Ninjana quickly bowed to her before turning back to Malachite. "Very well, what is the task?"

"We need you to find a former rainbow crystal carrier. More specifically, a fat cat by the name of Hercules. You remember when Zoicite went after the last crystal, don't you?"

"Crystal clear, my lord." She had been waiting in the shadows like always should she be needed.

"The cat in the projection from the Star Crystal is your goal. Bring it back to us unharmed." He dismissed the Youma as she left to search for her target.

Malachite and Mina began to search for themselves after about a half hour or so, although there was no doubt that Malachite trusted Ninjana, they had to do something. They searched in every back alley and main street around them, but could not find the cat no matter where they looked. "This is hopeless." Artemis moaned.

"No it's not, Artemis." Just as she said those words, Hercules scampered past, followed closely by an angered Prince Endymion with the Star Crystal in hand. "See?"

"That was Endymion. But, what could he want with a former crystal carrier?" Malachite pondered before turning to follow the prince he once protected. "I will stall him, transform and follow." Without another moment of hesitation he leapt down the street and turned the corner.

Mina knew what to do and held her transformation pen up high. "Venus Power!" In a series of spins, allowing the streams of stars to envelop her, she became the beautiful Sailor Venus!

The prince had the cat cornered in a back alley. "End of the line cat, your coming with me." Endymion held out the Star Crystal, which floated out into the air and rotated a few times before emitting rings of yellow light accompanied by an ear-splitting sound. Hercules was sucked inside the gem. "One down. Six to go." He counted. But he dropped the crystal as something sliced into his wrist. It was a shruiken. "Huh?" He looked over in the direction it came from, seeing Ninjana perched on a nearby ledge. "You too? Very well then, _traitor_!" Endymion drew his sword, as did Ninjana.

They charged forth, hacking and slashing at each other with the skills of master swordsmen. "Give me that cat!" She demanded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Endymion knocked the sword from Ninjana's hand, but she retaliated with a series of throwing knives. But Endymion slashed them out of the air, and reeled back to impale the Youma.

But he couldn't. "Venus Crescent Beam!" The beam gathered at her fingertip, and she pointed at the prince. "Smash!" The golden beam sliced through Endymion's wrist, forcing his weapon to clatter to the ground. She leapt down and landed at Ninjana's side.

"So, that's how it's going to be. Two on one? Should be fun." Endymion picked up his sword and pointed the tip at them. "Now, who should go first?"

"Where's Lord Malachite?" Ninjana asked her teammate, but the answer didn't come in words. A pink energy disk hit the ground below Endymion's feet, the blast it created sent him flying into the far wall. The fourth shitennou appeared on Venus' left.

"_Malachite_!" Endymion growled as he got to his feet. In the process, he noticed the Star Crystal was near his feet. But if he took his eyes off of the opponent they would strike. So instead of picking it up normally, he slid the tip of his foot under it and flipped it up into the air. When it was in front of him, he grabbed the jewl, all without taking his eyes off the enemy. "We'll meet again, Sailor Venus, Ninjana. And as for you, Malachite. Queen Beryl wants to handle you herself." He vanished in a swirl of dark energy, returning to his queen with the cat. They had failed to rescue him.

Disappointed, they returned to Mina's house. The girl flopped down on the bed, Artemis hopped up and sat next to her, and Malachite simply stood near her desk. "We were so close." She said as she rolled on her side so she could see the two. "Malachite, do you have any idea what Queen Beryl could want with that poor kitty?"

Malachite thought for a moment, there was nothing coming to mind. With the rainbow crystals gone there was no real reason to go after them. Unless Beryl had found a way to revive their powers, that was the only reason that came to his mind. "The only reason I could think is that if Beryl found a way to revive their powers, then she'd need something to test it on. Even if she did find a way to revive their powers, she'd need them all before she could actually _do _something with them."

"Then that means any one of them could be next!" Artemis exclaimed.

"Yeah, which means we'll have to be on alert. When Beryl makes her move we'll be ready for it!" Mina said with pride. It was hard to bring down her moral, Malachite would give her that. He smiled at her statement. "Well, look at that! You're smiling!" It was the first time he had smiled around her so he could understand her surprise.

"Yes, I'm smiling." He chuckled, his voice not as cold as before. Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was setting, so he turned to leave. "I'll see you around. I have no doubt that Beryl will send Endymion after another crystal carrier, so we'd better both get some rest."

Mina nodded with a smile. Artemis agreed with a nod of his own. "Hey, just asking but, where are you staying. You popping up out of thin air doesn't always work for me."

Malachite was about to tell them 'the park under a pile of leaves', but stopped and thought. Rei's offer to stay at the temple still stood, so why not give it a chance? "Rei offered to let me live at the temple for a while, so that's where I'll be." In a swirl of energy he was gone like always.

Rei had just finished changing into her pajamas when she saw the swirl of energy, so when Malachite appeared she scolded him, "You might wanna be a little more careful with that teleporting of yours. You might see something you'll regret." Her arms were crossed, so he knew he had done something wrong.

"My apologies." He said with respect to the fiery shrine priestess. "But I came by to let you know that, if you'll allow it, I would like to take up your offer to stay here."

Rei uncrossed her arms, letting them fall to her sides and a smile forming on her lips. "Really? That's great!"

"Why do you say that?" He questioned her happiness.

"Well, you had been sleeping outside in the cold and...Well, nobody deserves that kind of torture, except Beryl."

Malachite smiled, and Rei was pleased to see that, maybe he had a chance at true friendship with these girls. They made him laugh, were loyal to each other, and cared about his well-being. To think that he had been trying to kill them just a few days earlier was something he couldn't fully comprehend.

Rei was kind enough to help Malachite get settled in. The room was average, and not far from her own if there was an attack at night. He settled down on the bed and looked at the picture frame he had brought with him, the picture of him and Zoicite smiling together was the last thing he saw before going to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6 Grandpa

Four days had passed, and Queen Beryl was pleased with her prince's work. "Magnificent work, Endymion! You have brought me three of the Rainbow Crystal carriers and were only detected once out of those three times!" The prince bowed to his queen. "Tell me, who is next?"

"That grandpa. Zoicite said he had strong resistance to the Star Crystal, but that won't help him in the slightest. I will capture him without fail, my queen." He straightened up, waiting for the approval from his leader before setting out on his mission.

"I wish you the best of luck. But be careful, Endymion. With Malachite still out there you must be wary. You are growing stronger, I know that for a fact, but Malachite has far more experience in the field than you." Beryl warned before Endymion vanished through a black portal.

The aforementioned general had just awoke from his sleep. Sitting up in his bed, he stretched his arms. Mina had taken him shopping yesterday to get something more comfortable to sleep in, so he changed into the shrine kimono Rei had lent him to wear during his stay at the temple. Stepping out into the hall, he felt something was off. "Hm?" He could hear Rei's grandpa speaking from the entrance to the temple.

Malachite approached the scene from behind, and listened in. "I told you, I have all the helpers I need. If a spot becomes available i'll let you know, now stop bugging me!" He heard the old man say, he swore he recognized the man he was speaking to.

"Is something wrong? Mr. Hino?" Malachite asked as he moved to join the ongoing conversation.

"Nothing, I was just leaving." The man said as he turned and left the scene upon seeing Malachite. Further egging on his suspicions.

Grandpa turned to Malachite. "Some people just don't get the message these days." He said with annoyance." He looked up at his guest as Rei entered the room. "Well, I think you know the drill by now. Go on, get to it. Chad and I have work of our own to do." The raven-haired priestess huffed in annoyance before leaving the room almost as quickly as she had entered. "Was it something I said?" Grandpa looked to Malachite for clarification.

"Probably. Don't worry though, if I find anything out i'll let you know right away, Mr. Hino." he followed Rei out to the grounds, remaining silent so she could have time to calm down from whatever had set her off. The time passed quickly, and Malachite was about to comment on the subject of what had made her annoyed that morning. He didn't get the chance to though as he heard rustling from the bushes. "I'll go check it out." That was the biggest mistake he had made all day.

As he approached the bushes, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. He had no time to react as he was pulled through the shrubbery, but that didn't stop him from taking his assaulter with him in the fall. Both landed hard in a small clearing after tumbling down the side of the hill near the shrine.

Malachite made haste and in a flash he was in his general's attire, white cape and all. Taking a fighting stance, he spoke to his attacker. "Endymion, that was a _very _stupid move. I don't know what you plan to do here, but I will stop you unless you leave right now!"

Endymion stood up, brushing himself off in the process. "Stand aside Malachite, the queen will deal with you later. But right now I have business of my own to attend." He smiled, Malachite was completely unaware of what was coming his way. He rushed at Endymion, but the prince swiftly evaded the futile excuse of an attack. "That's the best you've got?" The prince counter attacked, but Malachite blocked it with the palm of his hand.

"Haaa!" Malachite shot a ball of energy at his foe, striking him down. However, as the former general was about to end the battle, Endymion threw a black rose at him. It split into a rope of sorts, ensnaring Malachite and bringing him down. Prince Endymion knew it wouldn't be long before he broke free from the trap. So with a mighty shove he kicked Malachite away, sending him rolling down the hill to stall for even just a _little _more time to capture his prey.

Rei was jealous, although she wouldn't admit it to anyone. She didn't hate Chad in the slightest, in fact she kind of liked him, but she didn't like Grandpa spending all of his time with him. So, when the time came for their work to end she approached her Grandpa as they sat on the steps to the main building discussing new ways to bring more people to the shrine. "Rei? What's wrong? You look sad."

"Yeah Rei, what's wrong?" Chad too was concerned for her, he hadn't seen her like this before.

She didn't know that she had such an expression on her face, so of course she was surprised when they knew something was wrong right off the bat. "Well-I-Uh..." She stuttered.

"Sit down, Rei." Grandpa moved so there was room for Rei on the steps. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"Well, it's just that...You've been spending almost all your time with Chad that..." She didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to finish for Grandpa to know what was wrong.

"Rei, I want you to be honest with me." He looked his granddaughter in the eye. "You're jealous. Aren't you?" She nodded, Chad remained silent as he knew that the two were having a moment. "Tell you what, Rei, how about tomorrow we take a day for just the two of us? Chad can take care of the temple. Right, Chad?" The other groundskeeper nodded in silence. He hadn't intended to make Rei feel this way.

"Thanks, Grandpa..." She smiled happily. Their happy moment was, sadly, interrupted.

"Well, now isn't that touching."

Rei looked towards the source of the voice. "_You_!" She snarled as she took a defensive stance in front of Chad and Grandpa. "What do you want?" Endymion just laughed at the priestess. In a moments notice he had rushed forwards and kicked her aside. She lay on the ground, gasping for breath as the dark prince approached his prey. It didn't take more than a second for Rei to realize what he planned to do. "Get away from him!" Rei latched onto him, pulling him a fair distance away from her elder. Endymion consistently tried to shake her off.

"Get off! Stupid girl!" He managed to grab her hand, and flipped her spine first into the ground. Rei cried in pain, but began the struggle to get back up. "Persistent. Aren't you?"

With determination, she tackled the dark warrior into the side of the main shrine building. "You aren't taking him! Not like the others!" Endymion scoffed as she tried to punch him in the face, blocking it with the palm of his hand. Swiftly, he struck Rei in the gut before releasing a wave of energy, sending her crashing through one of the stone pillars that decorated the grounds.

"Time to go." Endymion held out the Star Crystal, and it produced the same yellow rings it always did.

Rei looked up to see this event, she would _not _let this be the way it ended for her dear grandfather. "_Grandpa_! _No_!"

"Aaaargh!" Endymion screamed in pain as a wave of red energy forced him away from his prey, as well as shooting the Star Crystal far across the temple grounds. All eyes slowly turned to Rei. The symbol of mars had appeared on her forehead as it had when she first became a Sailor Scout, revealing her true identity to Endymion. Knowing that there was no turning back, she quickly transformed into Sailor Mars in front of them.

"Whoah, Rei...You're..." Chad tried to speak, but couldn't find the words to finish his sentence.

Endymion wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation. He rushed towards Grandpa, but Mars saw this coming. "Mars Fire Ignite!" The stream of fire burned the prince from the left, causing him to keel over in pain. She took the time she had to shove Chad and Grandpa through the front door of the shrine. "Whatever you do, do _not _open this door! Understand?" Chad nodded as Mars locked the door before turning to her enemy.

Prince Endymion had his blade drawn. "I have no interest in you, Sailor Mars. Now stand aside, and maybe i'll let you live."

"Not gonna happen, Darien."

"Alright then!" He rushed at Sailor Mars, but she leapt over him, and used his head as a sort of launch pad to propel herself high into the air. She turned to see her enemy, but he was gone. A sharp pain coursed through her stomach, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. Mars glanced down at her stomach, it had been sliced by Endymion's blade, she was bleeding rather badly.

"Ouch...That's just great." She remarked while getting up on one knee. She winced as she fully stood up, but she couldn't give up to the dark prince. Endymion lunged his sword at her as he came back down to the ground, but Sailor Mars leaned back and the blade passed just in front of her nose. Endymion abandoned the sword as it had stuck itself in the ground, blasting apart the door that was locked earlier. "Oh no you don't!" She rushed after him. Her grandfather was almost the only family she had left, and she couldn't let the Negaverse have it's way with him.

"Time to go, Grandpa." He held out the Star Crystal, which he had retrieved when Mars wasn't looking. "Queen Beryl awaits your arrival."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Grandpa insisted as he readied for combat. The yellow rings began to form around him.

"Firestar Flash!" Multiple streams of fire flew towards Endymion, surrounding him in a dome of fire. "That ought to hold him."

"Rei!" Grandpa and Chad were both overjoyed to see her alive, they had been worried.

"Rei, you sure you should be up and about?" Chad inquired as he noticed the bleeding gash from Endymion's sword.

Mars weakly smiled, all this fighting was taking its toll. "I'm fine, Chad. Really." She insisted before leaning against the wall to catch her breath. "But more importantly..." She paused for a breath of air, "we have to get you out of here, Grandpa!"

"You should listen to your granddaughter, Mr. Hino." The group turned to see Malachite entering the room through the broken doors. But he wasn't alone in his return, he had brought some much needed help.

"We came as soon as we could!" Sailor Venus explained as she too arrived on the scene. The heroes regrouped on side of the room opposite the dome of fire imprisoning Endymion. Unfortunately, the dome exploded and created a thick smokescreen.

"No time to talk." Sailor Mars said with worry, she was in no condition to fight another battle with her wound.

The sound of thunder interrupted everyone's thoughts as lightning struck outside. "_Endymion_!" A new voice sounded through the room. The smokescreen had begun to clear up, and they could see a silhouette of the dark prince.

"Q-Queen Beryl!" He stammered. "Don't worry, your majesty. I can still win this!" A second silhouette came into view, the person was holding a staff with an orb at the top.

"I cannot afford to lose you, hand me the crystal, I will deal with this matter myself! Return home for the meantime, Queen Metallia has requested your presence."

The smokescreen cleared enough that both groups could see one another clearly, Malachite's eyes narrowed at the sight of the dark queen. Endymion handed over the Star Crystal to her, and vanished in a swirl of energy. "And as for you, _Malachite_!" She locked her devilish eyes onto his own. "Your traitorous acts shall not be forgiven!"

The group of heroes stood their ground, they couldn't let Queen Beryl capture Grandpa. It would only mean she would be one step closer to achieving her goal.

Whatever goal the queen had in mind, they would prevent her from reaching it.

No matter the cost.


	7. Chapter 7 Trouble

Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, and Malachite stood opposite of Queen Beryl. Waiting for her to make a move. Mars was the first to attack. "Firestar Flash!" The multiple streams of fire headed for Beryl, but did not connect as she blasted them out of the air with black lightining from her staff. Beryl rushed forewards, striking Mars down with her staff. Lifting the pointed end, Beryl prepared to finish off the helpless Sailor Scout.

"_No_!" Venus screamed as she attempted to tackle the dark queen, but was bounced off of an energy barrier she created just in time, landing hard on the ground. Beryl lunged at the blonde sailor, but Venus rolled out of the way as the staff's pointed end smashed into the ground. "Venus Crescent Beam!" Sailor Venus pointed directly at Beryl. "Smash!" The golden beam went towards it's target, and Venus expected Beryl to fall in pain.

She was dead wrong. The beam hit the palm of Queen Beryl's hand directly, but did no damage. The dark queen had absorbed it's power to use for herself! "Goodbye, Sailor Venus!" She shot the attack back at it's owner, who just _barely_ managed to get herself out of the way.

"How dare you!" Venus seethed with anger. "Crescent..." A golden, crescent shaped weapon appeared in her hand. "Boomerang!" Launching it with all her might, Sailor Venus let the attack fly through the air.

"Hmph!" As the attack neared it's target, Queen Beryl deflected it with a swipe of her hand. "Die, Sailor Scouts!" A wave of black lightining sent both Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus flying into the back wall. Malachite remained standing with a bit of effort.

He leapt towards Beryl, and released a burst of energy at close range, knocking the queen back a fair ditance. Rushing to his fallen allies, he asked them, "Can you stand?"

Sailor Mars shakily stood up, her wound worsened by the energy wave from Beryl. "I don't know how much more of this I can take..." She gasped, they had to get her out of here while keeping Queen Beryl away from Grandpa. Said elder had taken cover behind an overturned table in the room with Chad. Everyone knew it wouldn't do much good, but it was at least something to keep them a little safer.

Sailor Venus stood up, ready to fight some more. "Get them out of here, Malachite. I know you'd do a better job fighting Beryl than me, but that means you can protect them better. Now go!" Without much hesitation, Malachite allowed Mars to use his shoulder for support. He motioned for the others to follow him, and they did.

"Step aside or die! Sailor Scout!" Queen Beryl demanded angrily as she got to her feet.

"If you wanna get to them you'll have to go through me!" Sailor Venus took her stance. No longer would she hold herself back.

"It would be my pleasure!" Beryl hissed while lunging for the kill.

The sailor soldier of love barely had time to react, but she did so with her strongest attack at that point. "Venus!" A gold, heart-linked chain appeared around her. She grabbed it by one end. "Love-Me Chain!" Like a whip, Venus used the chain and smacked Beryl away. The queen landed on her feet, but was furious. The attack hadn't hurt her in any way, but Malachite was getting away with that grandfather. Without him, her plan would fall to ruin.

"Aaaaaaagh!" Beryl shot the lightining from her staff once more, but Venus countered with the chain. When she tried to attack Beryl directly, the chain wound up wrapped around her staff instead. The two warriors struggled against each other for the advantage of the situation, until, "Such a foolish mistake." The golden chain became electrified with dark energy from the staff, causing Sailor Venus great pain. Venus knew she couldn't last alone, so she released the section of chain and started running to follow Malachite's path leading into the nearby forest.

Queen Beryl was right on her tail, following step for step. It was a wonder that she could move at all in that dress of hers. "Enough games!" Beryl began to fly above her prey. "How's this!?" A large, dark purple crystal formed in her hands.

Sailor Venus saw it, and once Queen Beryl had launched it she dodged out of the way. The ground it hit was smashed into dust and nothing more. It was much too powerful an attack to counter with her chain. But she had to try.

While Venus ran for her dear life, Malachite was having trouble of his own. Sailor Mars was growing weaker by the minute from the sword wound Prince Endymion had inflicted. They stopped to rest, believing that they had outrun the fight. "Rei, I just can't believe that you're Sailor Mars...Why didn't you tell me?" Grandpa asked as Mars sat down with her back against a tree.

"I couldn't...If you knew someone could...capture you and torture you until you told them. I couldn't take the risk...of you going through that pain." Her sentence was broken up as she was finding it harder and harder to breath with the wound she had sustained. Worried, Malachite used his magic to conjure up a roll of bandages. With a little help, Malachite wrapped them around her waist where the gash was.

Chad and Grandpa sat by Mars. "That's really thoughtful of you." The elder thanked his granddaughter for her considerate choice of action.

Hearing footsteps, Malachite stood and began to leave. "That must be Sailor Venus, Queen Beryl rarely runs anywhere from what I can remember." He left the scene to go and help her.

"Yaah!" Venus whipped at the next incoming crystal with all her might as she continued to run. The chain smacked it off course, sending it crashing through a tree instead of into the sailor herself. But of all the things that brought her down, it was when she tripped over an exposed tree root. Beryl did not bother to stop and kill her, she had lost enough time with Sailor Venus already that could have been better spent catching the grandfather she needed for her plan.

Appearing before the group as they watched over Sailor Mars, she made her threat to them. "Enough games for today, Grandpa Hino. It's time that you come back with me. Come peacefully and I won't kill your friends here." Chad and Grandpa took a defensive stance in front of the injured Sailor Mars. A mistake.

"Grandpa no! That's what she wanted you to do! Get out of here now!" Mars insisted, beginning the struggle to get to her feet.

"She's right." The orb on her staff shot lightining down upon the two, rather obviously caging them inside a cage of black lightining. In a red flash they were gone, and Beryl pointed the staff at Sailor Mars. "At least today wasn't a _complete _waste of my time." She hissed as energy collected at the top of her staff.

But before the queen could do anything more, a pink boomerang-shaped energy blade flew by her head, sticking itself in the tree trunk ahead. Queen Beryl turned to see Malachite and Sailor Venus had returned. "_Beryl_!" Malachite's voice was filled with rage.

"I will deal with you soon enough. With my plan almost complete I can afford to let you live to enjoy this a little while longer. Which will make it all for the better when I take it all away from you, _traitor_!" Beryl vanished into thin air, leaving the three alone in the forest.

"_Grandpa_..." Mars was sobbing on her knees, not having had the strength to get up and fight back. Venus knelt by her, gently placing her hand on her shoulder.

"We'll get him back, don't worry." She smiled reassuringly. Making people feel better was one of her many life skills that always came in handy.

"Your friend's right. We'll get him back. For sure." Malachite followed Venus' example and placed his hand on her shoulder as well.

Evening came, and the shrine was cleaned up easily thanks to Malachite's dark powers. They were unaware that the end was approaching fast.

Back on her throne, Beryl was pleased to see that, while she was dealing with the grandfather, Endymion had captured two more of the Rainbow Crystal carriers. Only one was left. "Soon, the Sailor Scouts will be out of my way for good! You have impressed me, prince. With the last carrier, the beast shall be released!"

Later that night, everyone gathered at the Hikawa Shrine. The heroes stood in the flame-lit room where Rei sat in front of the fire, preparing to see into the future.

Malachite stood between Mina and Ami, arms crossed over his chest as usual. Everyone was on edge.

When Rei began to chant unknown words, the tension grew. When she looked directly into the fire, she saw many things. A UFO in the skies over Tokyo. A robed man with a crystal ball. But both of those did not seem as important as the next. A tall beast of shadows, crushing Tokyo with it's mere presence. But that wasn't what worried her most, she could see Grandpa's face along with all the other Rainbow Crystal carriers in it.

"What did you see?" Luna asked once Rei came back to her senses from the vision.

"A shadow monster crushing Tokyo. I saw Grandpa's face with it."

"Then the legend is true." Malachite solemnly spoke.

Rei was about to ask him what that mean, but a phone began to ring from down the hall. Ami left to go answer it. Once she was gone, Malachite began to explain.

"One of the ancient legends about the Shadow Warriors tells of an invincible beast capable of crushing anything in it's path, called the 'Invincible Shadow'. It is said to be created by combining the Seven Great Youma-the Shadow Warriors-together in the presence of their true queen."

"And just who is their true queen?" Serena dug into the subject.

"Queen Metallia. The very one Queen Beryl is attempting to free from her cyrtsal prison. She is of unmatched power, and Beryl does not need to free her to bring the warriors together. Metallia simply must be within the vicinity of them when she merges them."

"What about the Imperium Silver Crystal? Wouldn't that stop it?" Mina asked.

"I am uncertain of that. The beast is said to absorb any energy it comes into contact with. The same can be said for Metallia herself." Malachite un-crossed his arms, letting them fall to his sides. "Could you tell how many she has gathered by looking through the fire?" He asked, this would be key if they were to survive.

Rei looked back into the fire after chanting a second time, tension was at an all-time high by this point. "Six! She only has one left!" Rei went into a panic.

Ami returned at that point, happy about something. "Hey guys, guess what? Greg's in town for a few days!"

Malachite recognized the name. "Greg? Zoicite mentioned something to me regarding a brown-haired boy with that name. Was he a carrier?" He sounded anxious, but who wouldn't?

"Yes, but his heart stayed human once the crystal was removed. At least until Zoicite used the Star Crystal on him a second time."

"Then we have to find him, immediatly!" Malachite shouted before darting to the door.

"But why? You aren't planning on hurting him for what he did to Zoicite, are you?" Ami was prepared to fight for her dear friend, but that wasn't necessary.

"Queen Beryl must not be allowed to release the Invincible Shadow! We must hurry!" Everyone followed Malachite's example of leaving the shrine except for Rei, who was still recovering from her injury. "We'll split up!"

"Who made you leader?" Serena interjected. She was rather upset everyone was following _his _lead and not _hers_.

"We don't have time to argue! Let's move!" Lita spoke up before dashing off with Mina and Artemis to the left.

"Oh fine, Lita." Serena dashed off to the right with Luna following her close behind.

Malachite and Ami descended the stone stairs last among the group, heading straight in hopes they would find Greg before Beryl or Endymion. "Let's go!" She got out her micro-computer and began to run alongside the former general.

It was a race against time now, if the Invincible Shadow was released, they would be helpless against it. Their only possible hope was the Imperium Silver Crystal, which wasn't even close to being garunteed to work.

But could they make it in time?

**Review, please?**


	8. Chapter 8

Malachite and Ami ran down the streets of the city. Unusual weather had been reported on TV and Radio stations, but now it was becoming a large problem as snow was starting to cover the sidewalks. They were sure to not miss a spot on the streets as they searched. Had Malachite known what Greg looked like it would be nearly as simple as a teleport, but it wasn't.

"Malachite, look!" Ami pointed towards a brown-haired kid running down the street.

"Is that Greg?" Malachite asked, ready to head after him.

"Yes, I think it is!" Ami began to type into her micro-computer, and was pleased with what came up. "That's him alright. You go on ahead! I'll transform and catch up in a moment. Something's wrong with this weather, and I don't just mean it's unusual. Something's causing it and I have to know what that something is!" Ami turned and ran off down another street. Malachite made haste in pursuing Greg.

"Hey! Wait up!" He called out to him, but that just made him run faster. "Hmph!" Malachite vanished into thin air, then quickly reappeared in Greg's path. But the boy turned down an alley, avoiding the former general. When Malachite turned to follow, he did not see him in the alley. "Just great. I lost him." Turning at the sound of footsteps, he saw Ami-now Sailor Mercury-running up to him.

"Where is he?" She wondered.

"I lost him when he turned down that alley. That would be a good place to start looking." The two took off into the alley without hesitation.

"Greg!" Mercury screamed as she saw him cornered by Prince Endymion.

"Ami! Get out of here!" He insisted. "Hurry!" But Mercury wouldn't hear any of it. Instead, she rushed in and stood defensively in front of her friend.

"You won't hurt him as long as i'm around!" She declared with confidence, no longer afraid of the evil prince.

"Hmph! Pathetic!" Releasing a wave of energy, he sent both of them flying to the end of the alley, just in front of Malachite. The attack felt much more powerful than normal.

"Sailor Mercury, get Greg out of here! I'll stall for time." Without waiting for an answer, the white haired shitennou leapt into action. "Hraaaa!" He launched a large ball of negative energy towards the prince, knocking him back a small distance.

Leaping into the air, Endymion slammed left foot first into the concrete ground, smashing it to dust and forcing Malachite to leap back in order to see. Emerging from the dust, he attempted to punch him in the face, but was skillfully blocked and countered. "It's a shame you betrayed Queen Beryl. With the Imperium Silver Crystal, you could have revived Zoicite by just merely touching something of hers." Endymion attempted to sway Malachite to re-join the Dark Kingdom of the Negaverse.

It was to no avail. "After the queen's act of murder, I will _never _serve under her rule again! And if it _is _possible to revive her, I will do it without the queen!" In rage, Malachite released a beam of negative energy towards the prince, who leapt over it with little problem. However, the destruction the beam caused decimated the foundation for a nearby fire escape. It came tumbling down, trapping Malachite underneath. "Rrrrgh!" He tried to lift it off of him, but such a large amount of metal was not easily moved.

"I'll be seeing you, Malachite. If the beast doesn't see you first." Endymion faded out of sight.

Malachite had had _enough _of Endymion's games! No more would he hold back simply because he was supposed to protect him. He would hunt that man down, and punish him _severely_. "HAAAAAAAAAGH!" In a scream of rage, Malachite released his anger in the form of an energy burst, blasting the metal trapping him into nothing more than a few specs of dust.

He angrily marched his way out of the alley, and pulled out his communicator. "Mina, this is Malachite. Endymion is heading after Greg and I have a good idea of where he'll be. Meet me at the fair grounds."

"We'll be there!" He heard the blonde reply from the other end. The communication cut out, and Malachite focused his mind on the fair grounds before vanishing into thin air, reappearing at the grounds.

As he had predicted from the path of negative energy he had sensed from the prince, Sailor Mercury and Greg were facing off against Endymion. "Step aside Mercury! It's not you i'm after!" He demanded again.

"Never!" She defied him with confidence. But she didn't have to fight on her own.

"You can count on it." Malachite leapt to Mercury's side, ready to fight full-force.

"Then I will kill you both!" Endymion drew his sword with one hand, a black rose appearing in the other. The showdown had begun, and there would be no holding back. Endymion was the first to attack, throwing his rose at Malachite. But the former general countered with an ice shard, sniping it out of the air. "Why you-" He could not finish his sentence as Malachite hit him right in the jaw, forcing Endymion to stagger back a bit.

Malachite formed balls of energy in his hands, then launched them all at once towards the prince. He managed to dodge, but the balls of negative energy decimated whatever they hit. Which included a light post, bulletin board, and a few bumper cars. "Stand still!" He fired a few more, tearing up the solid concrete of the fair grounds and some of the grass patches here and there.

"Hmph! Not even close!" Endymion flung a series of roses towards his target, but Malachite avoided them so they stuck into the concrete instead. Enraged, the prince attempted to slash him out of the air, but the attack failed to do any real damage other than a minor cut in his left arm, only further enraging the white-haired shitennou. "Aaaaaah!" He screamed in pain as an ice shard unexpectedly sliced through his wrist, making him drop the sword right into Malachite's waiting hands.

The former general attempted to cut his enemy down once they both landed on solid ground. But this only bent the blade against what was left the solid concrete ground due to his immense strength. "Ha! Too bad for you, _prince_!" Malachite taunted as he tossed the bent blade aside. It made a loud clatter as it hit the ground. "Naaaaaagh!" He shouted. Launching bolts of energy at the prince, his anger was rising higher and higher. At this point he was aiming for the kill without even knowing it.

He soon realized this though, as a golden beam intercepted his bolt midair and both dissipated in a near blinding flash. "Malachite! You can't kill him!" He looked over and, sure enough, Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon were standing there, Venus having been the one to stop his attack.

Malachite calmed himself, taking in a few deep breaths of air before returning his focus to Prince Endymion. Rather, where the prince once stood.

"Greg!" He heard Mercury shout, and on turning he managed to catch a glimpse of the boy being sucked inside the Star Crystal. With the last carrier captured it wouldn't be long before Beryl could unleash The Invincible Shadow.

"Why do you want him!?" Mercury demanded, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Why, to release the beast of course. Once it is free you will all be nothing but ancient history!"

Mercury wiped the tears from her eyes, she wouldn't give up. It wasn't too late to save everyone, and she knew it. "I'm warning you right now, let them go or face the consequences!"

Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were about to rush in to help her, but Malachite knew that he couldn't allow that. "No, this is her fight. Trust your friend."

"What's gotten into him?" Venus asked Sailor Moon, this was a major change in Malachite's attitude and she wanted to know why.

"Oh please, what are you gonna do? Throw bubbles at me? Hahahahaha!" Endymion laughed at the opponent who dared to stand in his way.

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!" She didn't hesitate any further to create the thick fog that enveloped the battlefield. She knew, however, that this wouldn't suffice in _completely _stopping the prince. Sailor Mercury would have to take things into her own hands if she was going to defeat her former friend. She rushed forewards, and jabbed him in the stomach with her knee.

She grabbed hold of the Star Crystal in her opponent's hand, struggled to pull it free. "You stubborn little bitch!" The prince cursed, as no matter how hard he tried he could not shake her off.

"I may be a girl, but I am not a dog!" The incorrect use of the word had sent her over the edge in terms of anger. Normally it would not have offended her so much, but she had already had quite enough! With a final determined pull, she freed the crystal from his grasp and leapt back out of the fog. She landed safely on her feet in front of her friends.

"No! Queen Beryl's crystal!" Endymion shouted in anger. "You really are a stubborn little-" But he could not finish the sentence as Malachite socked him straight in the face. Knocking him out cold. All Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus looked at Malachite in expectation, but it wasn't he who had thrown the punch.

All eyes soon turned to Sailor Mercury, and they saw her standing proud and tall, a very rare sight to see. "I. Am not. A dog!" With a final anger supported burst of strength she threw the Star Crystal to the ground with everything she had, and it shattered into hundreds of thousands of tiny pieces. In flashes of their respective colors, the carriers were freed from the crystal and lay on the ground unconcious.

Her friends just looked at her with amazement. Nobody knew that, when pushed too far, Ami Mizuno could be so strong!

It was truly frightening to think that a normally timid girl could knock someone out with a single punch when pushed past her limits. The celebration was short-lived as Endymion's unconscious body vanished in a pink light, meaning Queen Beryl had brought him back to the Dark Kingdom. The Negaverse still had influence over him, something that a simple punch could not solve. It didn't take long for all eyes to refocus on Sailor Mercury, however. "Y-You just..." Malachite stammered, he was truly impressed.

"Ami! I can't believe you just did _that_!" Greg exclaimed, he had been fortunately awake to see the amazing feat.

Later that evening, Rei and her Grandpa sat in the room which housed the ever-burning fire. Malachite was there too, he had a lot of explaining to do if Rei couldn't handle it alone. "...and I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Really I am!" The priestess finished, hoping her elder would not be angry with her.

"Rei, I understand why you didn't tell me. You didn't want to put me in danger with this information." He sounded tired, although who could blame him? Being prisonor inside a tiny crystal wasn't exactly a good career choice. Then again, it wasn't a choice at all. "I'm proud of you, Rei. If it wasn't for you and your friends this city would be a burning mess by now!"

"Yes, unfortunately. That is indeed how the city would be." Malachite confirmed for them.

Even later that night, Malachite sat on the edge of his bed looking at the picture he had brought with him. "Zoicite...I wonder, could it truly be possible to revive you?" He asked no-one, unaware that Rei was watching him from the open doorway. He had been too lost in thought to notice.

The raven-haired teen finally spoke after a few moments of silence. "So, you two were closer than just colleagues?"

Malachite, for whatever reason, didn't seem startled by her sudden appearance. "Much more. I loved her, and she loved me. The day Queen Beryl executed her was..." He didn't finish, and instead began to cry. Wait, cry? He was the leader of the shitennou for crying out loud! How could he begin to cry so easily?

Well, it was rather easy if you had been holding back tears for weeks. Rei sat down next to him, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let me guess here. Since Serena and Darien were a couple back in the Silver Millennium, you and Zoicite were too?"

"I...Don't really know. I only have one memory of the Silver Millennium, and that is of the day that Queen Beryl lead her army against the Moon Kingdom." He admitted, but decided it was time to rest. "It's getting late, I'm going to sleep." He told her, and Rei gave him one final 'good night' before leaving the room.

Rei's question stuck in his mind for a while, and he looked at the picture again. Were he and Zoicite in love during the Silver Millennium? Or was there something missing?

He would find out soon enough.


End file.
